By Baba Yusuf
Abuja
Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) will begin a democracy dividend nationwide tour in June, this year.
A statement by the National Secretariat of the union said the tour “is part of the constitutional guarantee as enshrined in Chapter II Section 22 which gives the media the role to uphold government and its officials accountable to the Nigerian people.”
National Secretary of the NUJ, Shuaibu Usman Leman, said the media “serves as a veritable means in showcasing and highlighting the strides, achievements, policies and programmes of government.”
According to him, “there is little doubt that the Media Tour will bring to fore the strides and achievements of the various state governments, as well as highlight the challenges and efforts aimed at tackling such.”
Leman said with the increasing demand on journalists to set agenda for all tiers of government, “on-the-spot assessment of the projects and other infrastructure initiatives has become imperative.”
He gave the assurance that the journalists on the media tour would be encouraged to be independent, objective and unbiased in their appraisal and reportage.
